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The security chiefs of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan sat down for talks Saturday to stop fighting on the border between the two countries that so far has killed at least 24 people and wounded over 100. The Kyrgyz border service announced the new round of talks as the two ex-Soviet nations traded blame for shelling that resumed Saturday morning after what appeared to be a brief respite overnight. The fighting, which started Wednesday for no obvious or publicly announced reason, intensified on Friday. Kyrgyzstan's Health Ministry said early Saturday that the bodies of 24 people killed in the clashes were delivered to hospitals in the Batken region that borders Tajikistan. Kyrgyz hospitals and clinics also treated 103 people wounded in the shelling, the ministry said. It wasn't immediately clear whether there were any casualties on Tajikistan's side. Tajik authorities, however, accused Kyrgyz forces of destroying a mosque and targeting civilian infrastructure, including residential ...
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday asked SCO member states to guard against "colour revolutions" instigated by "external forces" and asked them to maintain strategic independence and safeguard regional stability, in a veiled attack on the US as it expands its influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Addressing the 22nd SCO summit here in the historic Uzbek city, Xi also announced plans to establish a centre in China to train counter-terrorism personnel by the grouping and mooted a development bank to speed up regional economic integration. Xi congratulated India for taking over the rotating Presidency of the Beijing-based eight-member regional grouping. Here I wish to express China's congratulations to India on assuming the next SCO presidency. We will, together with other member states, support India during its presidency, he said at the summit, also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The once-in-a-century pandemic has continued unabated. Regional conflicts keep flaring up